Discussions

Group Description

Have you ever hiked part of the Appalachian Trail? Did you use a diary to record your progress? Take photographs of what you saw? Write poetry about your experience? One person who did all of these things was Earl Shaffer, the first person to walk the entire Appalachian Trail in one continuous hike. Shaffer had no expert advice, no previous footsteps to follow, or even guidebooks to help him.

This Flickr group is dedicated to collecting your photographs, stories, and memories about hiking the Appalachian Trail.

An exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History features Shaffer's photographs taken along the trail, Shaffer’s diary from the 1948 hike, and maps he used. The exhibition also covers the conception and development of the Appalachian Trail and its larger cultural and environmental impact.

You can explore the map with everyone’s contributions here within the Appalachian Trail Flickr group or by visiting the exhibition Web site. Note: You must use the Flickr map function to geotag your image if you want it to display on the Museum's exhibition Web site.

Instructions:1. Upload your photo to Flickr2. Add a written description about the location, your experiences, and anything else you want to say about your memories hiking the trail.3. Map your photo using Flickr maps4. Join the Appalachian Trail Flickr group.4. Add the photo to the Appalachian Trail Flickr Group

Group Rules

All photos submitted to this group will be considered for use in the National Museum of American History’s Appalachian Trail Map Project.

SNAP IT! MAP IT! DESCRIBE IT!

SNAP IT - Take a photo that shows the activityMAP IT - Note the location where you took the photoDESCRIBE IT - Note what is going on, what you saw, who you talked to

Upload the image to Flickr and add it to the Appalachian Trail group.

NOTE: If you want your image to display in the Museum's nationwide map of images, you MUST use the Flickr map function to geotag the image. Only images that include location (aka geotag) can be included in the Smithsonian's Appalachian Trail Web site.

Any picture submitted to the pool may be featured on the National Museum of American History Web site, blog, or on the Museum’s Facebook page. In the event that your photograph is chosen to be displayed on the Museum's Web site or Facebook page, it will be displayed along with your Flickr screen name, title, location, and description of the image. Please note that this group is moderated and the Museum has the right to remove any image that is inappropriate to the spirit of the Appalachian Trail project.

Museum Photography PolicyPhotography is prohibited in the Star-Spangled Banner Gallery and the Albert H. Small Documents Gallery. Video cameras and flash photography are permitted in all other areas unless noted by signage. Tripods are not permitted inside the Museum building unless permission is granted by the Museum's Public Affairs Office.

Prohibited Content and/or Activity:Smithsonian reserves the right to take appropriate action against anyone who violates these rules, including without limitation, removing the offending content from the group, or taking other action deemed appropriate in the Smithsonian’s sole discretion. Prohibited activities include posting content or engaging in conduct that:

-is obscene, patently offensive, abusive, threatening, harmful, harassing, defamatory or libelous;-contains nudity, violence or offensive subject matter;-contains content related to alcohol, firearms or tobacco;-involves the transmission of spam or junk mail;-exploits people in a sexual or violent manner;-violates the copyright, trademark or other intellectual property rights or privacy rights of any person;-furthers or promotes any criminal activity or provides instructional information about illegal activities;-provides or creates computer viruses;-involves advertising, solicitation or sales activities;-is determined by the Smithsonian, in its sole discretion, to be inappropriate or unacceptable.

Disclaimer:The Smithsonian reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend image and/or comment posting for any reason, including corruption or interference with this group by any virus, bug, non-authorized human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its control that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper postings. Smithsonian is not responsible for telecommunications, network, electronic, technical, or computer failures of any kind, incomplete or inaccurate transcription of photo information and/or comment posting, any human or electronic error, or for images that are incomplete, stolen, misdirected, jumbled, garbled, or delayed by computer transmissions. In the event of technical difficulties, Smithsonian reserves the right to take any appropriate action. Smithsonian and its officers, directors, employees, and agents assume no responsibility for any injury or damages of any kind to participants or to any person’s computer relating to or resulting from posting, entering, uploading or downloading materials or any other use in connection with this group. Smithsonian will use reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy of all information, but makes no warranties, whether express or implied, regarding this group. These rules are subject to change at any time without notice at the sole discretion of the Smithsonian. Changes will be posted on this group. If you become aware of misuse of this group by any person, please contact the group Administrator

For more information on Smithsonian copyrights, privacy, and rules concerning photography in other Smithsonian museums, please visit www.si.edu.